Shrimpton wearing a PVC dress and stockings, circa 1973
Jean Shrimpton is considered one of the world's first supermodels and was the embodiment of swingin' London in the 1960s. Poised and natural in front of the camera, she quickly became known as the face of the era, appearing on the cover of Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Harper's Bazaar. Shrimpton's waifish figure was a jolting departure from the more voluptuous models of the previous decade. Famous for her long legs, hair, and eyelashes, as well as her wide doe eyes, she was jokingly referred to as "the shrimp."
Shrimpton popularized the miniskirt in the mid-'60s by wearing a very short dress to a horse race in Melbourne. Conservative circles were aghast, but a defining trend was born.
When she reached her early 30s, Shrimpton withdrew from the fashion world and, largely, the public eye. Though she is largely synonymous with the '60s, her ubiquity as a supermodel and the lean lines of her figure live on in fashion's zeitgeist.